Frankfurt/Darmstadt/Kassel – culture has its price. But money is not only needed for the program, artists and makers. Technical modernization, renovations or a new building cost millions. “In Germany, there is a great need for renovation and modernization in many opera houses and theaters,” said the Hessian Ministry of Science and Art at the request of the German Press Agency.
For the state theaters in Kassel, Wiesbaden and Darmstadt, which are sponsored by the state and the respective cities, the state alone has earmarked a total of 78 million euros in the budget for modernization by 2024. Smaller measures would be carried out regularly at the three houses. Depending on age and use, however, the need for renovation of the technical infrastructure can be very specific and require extensive analysis, the ministry said.
New facade
For example, extensive investigations are currently underway for a thorough renovation of the historically important State Theater in Wiesbaden. The building, constructed in 1894 and reopened 100 years ago after a stage fire, is being examined in various disciplines. Included is a building from 1980 with workshops, administration and rehearsal stages. According to the information, there were recently renovations in fire protection, which were only possible to a limited extent due to ongoing operations. Further work is planned this year and next. The renewal of technical systems and a renovation of the arcade building are also pending.
In the state theater in Kassel, which opened in 1959, the stage technology was renovated in the 1990s and the building technology was renovated by 2007. “Because of increased requirements, the stage technology in the big house should now be brought up to date,” says the ministry. At the same time, the roof and facade will also be energetically renovated due to the closure that is necessary anyway. The costs are still unclear. Implementation could start in 2025 at the earliest.
The new building of the State Theater in Darmstadt, which opened in 1972, was last completely renovated in 2006. Then in 2011 the underground car park and the forecourt. The little house is currently being renovated. Estimated costs: around 58 million euros. Planned later are a photovoltaic system, facade renovation, accessibility and a renewal or new construction of administration, rehearsal rooms and workshops.
Expensive Frankfurt
Frankfurt will have to dig deeper into its pockets with its theater plans. The municipal theaters have been housed in a building on Willy-Brandt-Platz since 1963: the theater on the left, the opera on the right. Inside, parts still come from the previous building from 1902, which was destroyed in the Second World War. A fire in 1987 had further damaged the building.
A feasibility study in 2017 showed that the building could not be saved. A refurbishment would be more expensive than a new building and could not meet today’s requirements. In 2020, the city council decided to demolish it. Nothing has happened since then. The status of the debate is that the opera and theater should be rebuilt in the city: the opera on Willy-Brandt-Platz, the theater opposite. In the meantime, the costs have exploded: the new buildings would not be available for less than 1.27 billion euros. dpa
